1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless information services, particularly location based services that provide maps and other information of interest with respect to a user's locale.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
Dismounted soldiers may be equipped with any one of a number of different military and commercial two-way radios during the course of a mission. Examples of commercial radios include Motorola Talkabout voice radios, Garmin Rino voice radios, and APCO Project 25 digital radios which provide voice communications and a user's GPS location but lack other location based services.
Examples of military radios include the AN/PRC-117G manpack radio, the tactical handheld AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR), and radios configured according to the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) and the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS).
Touch screen mobile devices (e.g., HTC Touch) are known to offer location based services of significant value to commercial users. Yet, no commercial or military radio is known that can supply a dismounted soldier with location based services, other than GPS, in a lightweight and affordable package. A need therefore exists for a low cost communication device that can provide accurate location based services to a warfighter including the locations of friendly and hostile forces and corresponding maps, as well as the ability to chat or text with his or her buddies during tactical operations.